Chapter 108: 103 Substitution

“Two hundred and one!” Zhang Rongfang’s voice wasn’t loud, but it drew the eyes of those around him.

“Two hundred and one, anyone want to raise the bid?” The girl in the green dress pointed towards Zhang Rongfang.

“Two hundred and two,” said another man immediately.

“Two hundred and fifty!” Zhang Rongfang slapped the table, speaking heavily. He planned to raise the bid significantly in one go, to deter others from bidding.

Unfortunately, he underestimated the financial power of the others.

“Two hundred and eighty,” another young man in a blue robe, holding an iron-handled folding fan, glanced over lightly, unfazed.

Zhang Rongfang’s expression didn’t change, resembling someone who calculated that the item wasn’t worth that much and decided not to bid further.

“Two hundred and eighty, anyone else want to bid? Two hundred and eighty going once, two hundred and eighty going twice…” the girl in the green dress shouted.

“Three hundred,” another male voice called out again.

This time, no one offered a higher bid.

For such a commonly encountered fragment statue, people’s interest wasn’t very high.

Excluding collectors with special interests, three hundred taels for this fragment had already exceeded the market price by quite a bit.

Zhang Rongfang could only watch helplessly as the item was taken away.

Next up, several old books were auctioned, interspersed with some novelties.

Afterwards, the auction house took a temporary break.

Maids served snacks and drinks, fermented mare’s milk, red wine, and white wine.

The main course was diced meat and vegetable fried rice, big plate chicken, fried vegetables, and astragalus oxtail soup.

The snacks included apples, bananas, pears, with dragon fruit pieces mixed in honey and a hint of butter bits.

“There’s even butter bits…!”

Zhang Rongfang, with his keen five senses, faintly heard many people whispering in surprise.

He guessed that butter was probably very expensive here.

This Western oil, very common in his past life, was evidently a luxury in the Great Spirit era.

After mixing thoroughly, a uniquely flavored meal filled his stomach, slightly easing his earlier disappointment of not obtaining the fragment.

Next up was the second round of the afternoon activities.

This wasn’t an auction, but a free exchange of books.

The so-called free exchange was actually for those wealthy young men and women who weren’t short on money; they traded items instead of cash, so this segment primarily facilitated such transactions.

Zhang Rongfang had nothing to trade and could only sit and drink milk to rest.

During this time, he also saw several pieces resembling parts being brought out for exchange.

But unfortunately, he had nothing.

The woman in the dark green long dress next to him also stood up to trade. What surprised Zhang Rongfang was that the items she traded were actually calligraphy pieces she had previously written.

And there were actually people willing to take them…

This left Zhang Rongfang speechless.

The man to his left, on the other hand, sat quietly guarding his stacks of old books, waiting for someone to come and exchange.

After the exchange, the evening offered free activities.

Essentially, it was for the men and women who took a liking to each other during the day to freely form groups and go out for leisure.

Zhang Rongfang and Li Huoyun chose to go back home.

“…”

“….”

Inside the carriage, the two sat in silence.

Li Huoyun had initially planned a date with a girl, but seeing his brother sitting alone, he reluctantly left her and came to help Zhang Rongfang brainstorm.

“Brother, tomorrow, you have to take the initiative.”

“….”

“Bro, you need to get up and walk around! Don’t just sit there. In these events, if you’re not proactive, do you expect the girls to approach you?” Li Huoyun scolded in frustration.

“It’s fine, when the time is right, everything will naturally fall into place,” Zhang Rongfang said calmly.

“…” Li Huoyun was at a loss for words, not sure what to say.

On the second day.

Things started as usual, with the auction beginning.

This time, two pieces that seemed to be parts of the gate statue appeared. Zhang Rongfang once again stepped in, but unfortunately didn’t get any of them.

Every time, he was outbid by the young master in the blue robe with the iron fan.

And the blue-robed young master was outbid by another unfamiliar man, who forcefully snatched the items away.

In the end, throughout the day, neither Zhang Rongfang nor Young Master Tie Shan gained anything.

On the third and fourth days.

Each day, a piece of the gate statue appeared, along with five other parts.

Zhang Rongfang had become numb to it all.

This confirmed his initial suspicion that the pieces were indeed numerous.

Unfortunately, with his two hundred and fifty taels of silver coins, he could only afford the cheapest items here.

Though Zhang Rongfang sat still, face unchanged, appearing as if dozing off,

he was actually internally regretful and pained seeing the parts fall into others’ hands.

Finally, on the fifth and final day.

Early morning, there was no auction, but a grand performance of dance and music.

Dancers in sheer veils performed elegant dance, skits, and music on a newly erected wooden stage.

After lunch, the afternoon hosted the final exchange event.

In the main hall.

The girl in the green dress held up a grayish-white metal part resembling a halberd.

“Four hundred taels, first time.”

“Four hundred taels, second time.”

“Four hundred taels, third time? Sold!!”

Zhang Rongfang looked regretfully at this component; it was yet another part that could trigger reactions in the attribute panel.

Unfortunately, he had no money.

To be precise, the dirty money he had was stolen, so he couldn’t use it openly.

His clean money amounted only to two hundred and fifty.

The item was quickly delivered to the upper right side, in front of a private room.

A strong guard took it, inspected it, and delivered it into the room.

Inside the room, a large and obese woman gently received the long dagger as long as her forearm and placed it in the corner of the room.

In that corner, nearly ten items like this had already been placed.

All were auctioned by her these days.

The woman looked worried, holding a braised chicken leg in her other hand, hesitating to bite it, but she didn’t dare.

“Miss Wanyan Road.”

Suddenly, a clear female voice came from outside the room.

“Once the upcoming auction is over, the final exchange session will begin.”

Wanyan Road was startled, gritting her teeth.

This final exchange session was the time to determine pairings.

If someone had their heart set on another, inviting them or being invited in this final exchange determined the willingness to gradually develop a relationship.

Wanyan Road paused in silence. In fact, before she came here, she was advised by those high-class lady friends.

They argued that unlike Sun Chaoyue and others, she wasn’t part of their circle, and forcing herself in here was meaningless.

She certainly knew this was true, but…

Wanyan Road glanced at the components in the corner, quietly made a decision in her heart.

“I will participate.” She said solemnly.

Outside the room, that female voice seemed a little surprised, but then she respectfully responded and left.

Soon, the message reached Sun Chaoyue.

“Hmm? Wanyan Road still isn’t leaving?” Several young ladies at the gathering began to express their surprise.

“Does she think anyone at this gathering would fancy her?” A woman with a high nose bridge and almond eyes said sarcastically.

Her name was Penoylan, a noble from Tan Yang and part of the same circle as Sun Chaoyue, slightly less prominent than Sun Chaoyue and Zhong Yuran.

Her father was another associate of Tan Yang, essentially the fourth-ranking official of the entire Tan Yang, but she had little potential herself, relying solely on her family, not comparable to Zhong Yuran.

“People always hold onto hope.” Sun Chaoyue said gently. “Since she refuses to leave, let it be.”

“That’s right, if it were the outer circle, perhaps someone would be willing to be with her, but who cares inside?” Someone chuckled softly.

Sun Chaoyue smiled.

“If she chooses to humiliate herself, so be it. Let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s prepare for the final session. Distribute the exchange documents.”

“Yes.” Xiaoyu and two female stewards in charge responded simultaneously.

“The choice is mutual. Place your document in front of the other party, if they are willing, you can leave together. If not, cast your document to another preferred person.”

Sun Chaoyue repeated the rules.

The rules were decided by her, then conveyed by the servants.

Before long, people in both the inner and outer circles received these rules.

The men and women in the front rows quickly received various documents.

Wanyan Road sat in the room, pulling back the curtain to reveal her almost room-filling obese body.

She stiffened her face, trying not to pay attention to the strange glances cast from around.

Even the ugliest woman around her appeared petite and cute compared to her.

People with ordinary backgrounds only glanced slightly at her, not daring to comment, afraid of being noticed by her.

The top small circle of people, however, cared not at all.

Several mocking glances lingered on her, openly making jokes as if mocking her.

Wanyan Road was silent; she hadn’t encountered such a situation for a long time.

Since childhood, she had always avoided multiple-person occasions like this.

The fear was precisely for moments like this.

Each glance was like a piercing knife, stabbing her heart, making her feel extremely suppressed.

“Miss… shouldn’t we go back?”

The maid beside her couldn’t help but whisper.

“I’ve lost ten pounds.” Wanyan Road said seriously.

There was a moment of silence from the people around.

Unfortunately, as time passed, no document was placed in front of her.

Wanyan Road kept a composed face, looking down at the distributed profile sheets.

Just as the people around thought she had given up.

She eventually picked up a pen and wrote a short note on a document, then folded and hid it.

“Place my document on table 172.” Wanyan Road said. Her gaze fixed on a certain name.

There it was written, Zhang Ying, in bold characters.

Feeling the glaring glances all around her, she gritted her teeth and lowered her head.

This excessively obese body was compared to the women around her like a heap of ugly rotten meat.

The true reason she came this time was actually for Zhang Ying.

Previously Zhang Ying wanted to buy something but was outbid, she decisively intervened, making her servants buy everything.

Now, if Zhang Ying accepted her invitation and showed her some respect, she would give him the ancient component she let her subordinates buy here.

If not even willing to invite her once, then in the future…

Wanyan Road recalled Zhang Ying’s calm and equal gaze at that time, and eventually, a trace of hope rose in her complicated heart.

The maid beside her sighed sadly.

She had no choice but to step forward, retrieve the document, and leave.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep